A Home for my HexBugs!

One of the most innovative toys on the market has to be the Hexbug!  Little micro robotic creatures that move around in a haphazard fashion on their vibrating rubbery legs, look so much like cockroaches scurrying around it is quite intriguing!

You can have one Nano Hexbug running free or you can collect a whole swarm of the different coloured bugs.  You can even give them their own habitat. The options are endless!

We were sent some Hexbug samples to try out following our Hexbug Bedbugs Sleepover at London Zoo.   The bugs, who arrived in their individual test tube style cases, combine science, nature, gadgetry and fun.  Colourful, appealing and entertaining, they include a replaceable battery and are ready to explore!  Each HexBug contains a code so you can register and play online.

We were delighted when we were offered a home for our Hexbugs by find-me-a-gift.co.uk who sent us a Hex Bug Spiral Starter Set to review.  It's a great Christmas present idea for older children.  Adults are equally enthralled by the bugs!  They would make a good executive toy, my husband would love one of these sat on his desk at work!!

The perfect habitat for the cyber creepy crawlies to scurry about in, the series of spiral ramps and gates provides a very entertaining addition to your Hexbug Collection.  The set comes ready to build, with the bits fitting together easily.  One Hexbug Nano is included so you can play straight away.  It's fun with one, but chaos as you add more Hexbugs!

I really like the habitat.  Letting Hexbugs loose on the laminate invariably ends up with a few escaping under the sofa or the fridge who then need to be retrieved (or they will continue to crawl around until the batteries run out!!)  Containing them inside a purpose built habitat maximizes the fun as you watch them flip, scurry and negotiate obstacles in their random fashion.  You can add to the starter set and expand the Hexbug Habitat.  You could have a whole Nano Nation at your command!

Find Me A Gift sells a huge range of gifts for all occasions for men, women and kids.  From funny gifts to personalised gifts to the traditional to the outright ridiculous!  Whoever you're shopping for, you will find something that fits!

Other reasons to shop at Find Me A Gift include:

• 30 day money-back guarantee
• Low-price guarantee
• Loyalty points discount off future orders
• Huge range of unique gifts
• Excellent customer service
• Next day delivery available

The Hexbug Spiral Starter Set costs £20.99 which includes one Hexbug Nano.  

HexBugs BedBugs Sleepover

Sometimes you are invited to attend an event which is just too good to turn down.  Being asked to attend a BedBUGS Sleepover in the BUGS Exhibition at London Zoo with Hexbugs was such an amazing opportunity, I was fully prepared to head the 120 miles into London to be involved!

So along with Helen from The Crazy Kitchen and our two girls, we headed to Regent's Park, and armed with torch, sleeping bag and PJs made our way to the BUGS enclosure.

BUGS is home to a collection of species...locusts, dung beetles, leafcutter ants, spiders, rats and cockroaches...and it was our home for the night!

Getting to know our new neighbours!

We got to meet a Tarantula named Polly in a meet and greet encounter!

Kizzy wasn't too impressed by the Tarantula.

The children were given a Hexbug and had the opportunity to play together with the impressive Hexbug habitats.  These bugs were far safer than some of those behind glass, although the scurrying was very similar.  They are great fun and kept the kids entertained.

Hexbug....a safer kind of bug!

We went for a great torchlight tour of the zoo in the dark.  The lions were rather curious as a group of journalists, photographers and bloggers peered at them through the darkness.  The aardvarks got very excited by their unexpected visitors and acted like over zealous puppy dogs, trying to sniff us and lick us with their huge snouts and ridiculously long tongues!  Monkeys viewed us with suspicion...it was a very different experience than exploring the zoo by daylight.

The girls ready for action!

After getting ready for bed (using the public toilet block...not glamorous!) and listening to a story, we made our beds ready for sleeping on the floor.  Thankfully Kizzy had a fabulous Hello Kitty Sleeping Bag from HGL that she had been sent to try out so she was sorted for the night.

Hello Kitty Sleeping Bag by HGL 

I was pretty jealous of her fleecy, snug and cosy sleeping bag and we loved the girlie design and the good size. It squishes up really small into its carry bag making it really convenient to pack and carry.  We were glad to have it with us on our indoor camping experience!

She slept well, meanwhile I was shivering under my pathetically thin sleeping bag with my legs hanging out, battling insomnia!  I heard the lions roaring in the distance...that felt really exotic at 3am. However the buzz from the locusts was not as appealing a sound, nor was the humming of the air con!

My sleeping buddies!

As the sun rose at 6.30am we were woken up for breakfast followed by a early morning tour of a few more exhibits including Penguin Beach and Rainforest Life.  It was a beautiful autumnal morning and it was lovely to have a walk around before the crowds descended!

The Rainforest Life exhibit was amazing.  The animals were all very active and curious to see us there so early.  The anteater came for a close look.  He was so adorable!

We also loved the bats, the naked mole rats and the Emperor Tamarinds with their handlebar moustaches!  The free roaming animals made it a really exciting experience.  Tamarinds hopped over your head and birds flew freely around the enclosure.

The Penguin Beach Exhibit was a fabulous habitat for the zoo's collection of  penguins.  The girls particularly loved the glass viewing area which made them feel like they were floating in the penguin pool.

We had a fantastic experience at London Zoo with Hexbugs.  Not many of the million visitors that visit the zoo annually, can boast that they have spent the night lying on the floor of the bug house...I feel most honoured!!